Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 26, 1993                   TAG: 9305260216
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: JILL LAWRENCE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Medium

WHITE HOUSE MISCUES START AT TOP

Few students of politics are ready to write off Clinton or his plan. But his poll numbers are dropping, he may never live down his $200 Hollywood haircut, and the whiff of cronyism emanates from the purge of the White House travel office.

"It chips away a little bit each time something like that happens," Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., said Tuesday after meeting with the president.

Two weekend polls conducted after the infamous haircut found that Clinton's approval rating had dropped to under 50 percent. Analysts say the recent string of mishaps raises questions about Clinton's staff, political judgment and understanding of his position.

Some suggest the former Arkansas governor needs to scrap attempts at casual spontaneity.

"He likes to wing it a little bit, follow his instincts and intuitions," said Bruce Buchanan, a presidential scholar at the University of Texas. "He hasn't yet realized the costs of doing that. He still seems to resist carefully thinking through the consequences of every move."

Clinton has an army of aides and advisers responsible for helping him avoid doing things that may be impolitic - from consorting with movie stars to the tarmac haircut that's instantly become part of national political folklore.

But the supreme authority is Clinton himself, and analysts say he is ultimately to blame.

"An organization reflects the decision-making style, the values, the wisdom and the political acumen of its leader - in this case, the president," said Stuart Rothenberg, publisher of a newsletter.

Clinton cultivated a populist, man-of-the-people image during his campaign and is promoting his economic plan in a similar vein, with attacks on "big oil" supporters who he says would cut benefits to the poor, old and sick.

The populist pitch makes it all the more startling, and damaging, when he does something like get that Air Force One haircut.

Clinton is challenging the country to accept higher taxes and lower spending, new ways of financing campaigns and increased tolerance of homosexuals. Some Democrats say the eagerness to mount such challenges accounts for the latest round of mistakes.

They were "born of an intense absorption in the larger issues," said strategist David Axelrod, a consultant to the Democratic Party. "That caused people not to focus on these little symbolic things. But these things are enormously important. Everybody's learned that the hard way."

Begala maintains that "these extraneous things are not going to hurt the president in the end."

Given Clinton's brief time in office and his history of political resurrection, even Republicans say Begala could be right. The consensus is a quick success - perhaps in a House vote later this week on Clinton's economic plan - would go a long way toward healing last week's injuries.